Best Apps for Surviving Black Friday

It’s almost time for the most miserable shopping day of the year, when everyone decides to hit the malls and major stores on the same day, nearly a month before Christmas, to rout out the best deals on gifts.

Amazon Mobile (Android, iPhone). As one of the top retail sites on the Web, Amazon is the first and last stop. If you’ve already set up an Amazon account and have a credit card tied to it, shoppers can purchase about anything with a few taps. Side bonus: Shoppers can take photos and scan barcodes of products while out in the real world, and buy them through Amazon.

RetailMeNot (Android, iPhone). If you enjoy Black Friday solely for the deals, you’re missing out on a lot of apps that already offer deals for major retailers like Nike and Old Navy. RetailMeNot serves as a good aggregator for these deals — which often work for both online and in-store purchases.

Flash sales apps like Gilt and Fab (Android, iPhone). If you’re looking for something on the more esoteric side or something more design-oriented, you should do the majority of your shopping on flash sales apps — which often sell products you won’t find in brick-and-mortar stores.

In the end, if you absolutely must go out into the fray, here are a few apps that are worth picking up before you leave your home:

ShopKick (iPhone, Android) detects when shoppers are in or near stores and offers rewards targeted to them.

BFAds.net (iPhone, Android) is basically a massive collection of all the major Black Friday sales at top retailers like Best Buy. It’ll also aggregate news and deals in the app.

Use a price comparison app that scans barcodes like Amazon or Redlaser (iPhone, Android) to ensure that you are getting the best deal when you are browsing in stores.

Watch this week’s Off Duty show with tips on how to get good deals on Black Friday: